The scrapbook bug has bit again.  I have had this Amy Butler mini album kit forever and bought it intending to  assemble it and give as a gift.  This afternoon I felt like scrapping and thought I could whip this up in 20 minutes.  Because of the design, you actually have to add your photos before you can assemble it.  Weird.  Oh well, now I can keep it for myself.  It took way longer than I ever thought (tiny projects always seem to do that somehow) but I love it!  Off to Michael's to see if they have any more.  I think they would make gorgeous Mother's day treats for the grandmas.


I have been wanting this ribbon organizer for a long time and it has sat on my Ebay watch list just waiting for me.  I was eyeing the aqua one but not fully committed to the $20 odd dollars it would cost.  I suppose I knew in the back of my head that if I indeed bought it I would actually have to sit down and organize my crazy ribbon drawer.  On a whim, instead of buying the one on the watch list, I typed in a new search.  This red goody had just been listed with a Buy It Now for.... wait for it... $12.99.  Now don't go thinking I get so excited about saving $8 that I would do a full post about it!  Guess what was included in the price?  ALL OF THE RIBBON!!!  The picture was a bit blurry and I couldn't tell if maybe the cute ribbons were shoved into the front, but I was willing to risk it for that price.  It came today and let me just tell you, it is going to change everything!  It is way bigger than I thought, has zillions of holes and is so easy to use.  I just threaded the ribbons it came with (100% super cute!), all of my ribbons from the drawer and it still can hold tons more.  If you use ribbon you NEED this.  Sorry, I got the best deal ever though!


Looking for a great idea for a baby shower?  A brilliant gift that blesses the mom and baby for their entire lives?  Give you guests something to do besides chit-chat and throw the mommy to be a scrapbook shower.  Yesterday was sweet Becky's baby shower and each guest was assigned a theme to make a page with.  We brought all of our supplies and ate while we scrapped.  My theme was Dedication Day.  By the time the shower was over, Becky had an entire album full of pages to take her through her baby's first year.  Besides not having to worry about making an album in the next year, she can remember all of the people who love her and enjoy everyone's unique style.

I had to share this verse that I put on the page because it has blessed me so much and I try to think of it every day:

The commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  
Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home 
and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7



After all of the second guessing, I think this will be fine for a boy or a girl.  I wrapped it up my new favorite way:  in a tulle bag.  I tried it once out of desperation, I had no wrapping supplies on hand and my present was too weird to tie tulle around.  I thought sewing tulle would be hard, but if you can push a pedal you can sew tulle.  Now I keep all colors on hand and whip up a custom sized matching gift bag in a matter of minutes.  I took it to one of the best baby showers I have ever been to.  It involved chocolate, cupcakes and scrapbooking.  Need I say more?  I will post about it's awesomeness tomorrow and probably the few days after too, it was that great. 


So there are two types of moms-to-be:  

The "we can't wait to find out what we are having" and the "we love the surprise".  I am 100% in the club of finding out as soon as I can.  I guess it has to do with my terrifying pregnancies and all that we have been through.  I want to know the child I am carrying as well as I can in the womb for however many days they are there.  But I can totally respect the brave few who welcome the unknown.  Tomorrow I am going to a baby shower for a mom who has one girl and one boy.  They decided this time would be a surprise.  So fun!  It is a diaper shower and I just couldn't bring myself to just wrapping up a pack of Swaddlers and calling it a day.  She needs something fun to keep them in, right?  I found myself struggling with what fabric to pick.  Almost all of my stash is either very girly or very boy.  The few fun retro kid prints I have won't work. The type of diaper clutch I make calls for an all-over, not directional print.  My sweet husband who indulges my craft questions suggested I use a Hawaiian print.  BRILLIANT!  I had some red hibiscus left over from another project just waiting to be used.  What do you think?  Is it neutral enough?  Would you carry it around for a baby boy?  I don't have boys so I am a bit clueless.  Maybe she will have a girl and all of this wondering will be pointless.


I am a horrible person!  I am soooo late in getting two wedding presents out.  Crazy late.  Like the bride and groom are probably wondering what is the deal with us, late.  I ran out of zeroes a while ago and kind of forgot to finish the signs.  Mind you I have finished many many signs for Etsy with zeroes since then.  Both of them were just sitting forgotten in my garage, sad and lonely.  Wanting to go to a newlywed's new home.  So today I decided to get my act together and finish them.  They were drying in the backyard and I was feeling pretty good about myself.  I figured that if they have a year to get thank you notes out, I can be a few months late with a present right?  So while I was waiting for them to dry I ran out to the mailbox.  You would not even believe what was in there!  A beautiful card from one of the couples thanking us for "coming to the wedding"!!!!!!!!!  I just about died!  They have already sent out their cards, we haven't given them a present and they are thanking us for coming to the wedding!  So sorry N & C!  Your sign is on its way!


There was a time (long, long ago) that I was so caught up on my scrapbooks that I was actually planning events just so I could make pages.  Now, not so much.  It has been looming over my head and I have gone back and forth over what to do about it.  Even getting to the scrapbook store for a reason other than my Etsy shop is a luxury.  Creating pages... a dream I can't seem to get together right now.  I rarely even print pictures any more.  Yesterday I committed to park it at the computer and collect all of my faves from 2007.  During the girl's nap time I finished the whole year into one album and actually love how it turned out.  Look at the cover cuties!  I can finally check that off of the to do list.  Thanks Shutterfly!  



I have humbly come to the conclusion that my customers are way more creative than I am. This sweet sign is heading up to Northern California for a little girl's first birthday. Her mommy is going to take a photo of her daughter holding the sign and then make thank you cards from it. Each year she will hold the sign and it will be a fun way to track her growth. Did I come up with the idea? No! You would think after all of this time making sign after sign something like this would cross my mind. You better bet I am making my own version for my girls though.
How much do you love the little one's name? Years after thinking she was done having children she found herself with a little one one the way. Sudden joy! Sutton Joi! Happy birthday little one. Thanks for letting me part of it.


Today was the first day Lucy got to be in the 2-3 year old room at church. 99% of the time she is outgoing and happy, talking to everyone who comes her way. The nursery at church is a whole different story. The second we walk in the front foyer she starts chanting "no leave, no leave, no leave!" Now this is the same child who sees nothing wrong in running away from me at Disneyland without looking back. Something about the nursery makes her cling to me like I am about to drop her in a vat of boiling oil. As we walk up I can see the horror on the sweet volunteers faces. Oh no, here comes Lulu! She screams bloody murder basically the entire time she is in there. If she wasn't a pastor's kid I am sure they would have kicked us out months ago. Today was different though. She walked on her own down the early childhood wing and confidently followed Halley in the door. Not once did she scream for me. She played, sat still during story time and even colored a picture! I think that being with her big sis in the big kid room was just what she needed. For the first time in two years I actually sat through the service in total peace without waiting for the pager to buzz, beckoning me back to my crying child. Good job Lulu! You are growing up!



What a weekend! So much fun, family and way too much candy. The girls wore their Snoopy Easter skirts to the community egg hunt on Saturday. I made the skirts using an amazing tutorial you can find right here. I am so thankful to all of the sweeties out there who share their wonderful talents and take time to make tutorials for us to use. I tweaked the pattern a bit by adding ruffles and making Halley's longer and Lulu's shorter. The colors make me so happy! They just scream jelly beans. I made the matching easter basket from another tutorial. It was super confusing and challenging and I completely misunderstood the directions. I ended up cutting the fabric the wrong way and didn't have enough to make two baskets. Luckily Lucy didn't mind, she was just happy to have candy. The container that she put it in was of no importance. Now I have a full year to attempt it again and find the fabric on Ebay for way more than I paid at Joann's. (Hooray for 40% off coupons!)



I went back and forth wanting to make these... are they dorky-retro or are they fun/funky-retro? I decided that they were fun/ funky and dove right in. I had a Swell by Urban Chiks charm pack, a very full Tivo, two sleeping children and a quiet afternoon ahead of me. Add a needle, corner seat of a couch and you have the recipe for yo-yo madness. I am going to use some of them for cards and the rest for hair clippies. I sent my daughter off to preschool in one last week and she sent it home with somebody else. Good thing I have backups!



St. Patrick's Day is quickly becoming my favorite random holiday. Partly because I am Irish and partly because of Lulu. Two years ago I was lying in the hospital amazed that I just survived an awful emergency C-section but even more amazed at the little girl lying in my arms. My sweet friend Amy brought me a onesie from Old Navy that read "Mommy's Little Good Luck Charm". We took her announcement photos in that outfit, jaundice and all. We had her first birthday on St. Pat's last year and a tradition was born. Every day she acts a bit like a leprechaun and has the funny smile to get away with it. Happy Birthday Lulu! I will be sad when you want a Princess party instead. Until then, bring on the green!



Look at my girl on the run! I made this fun apron for Valentine's day to go with the simple yet stunning dress I bought a while back on Etsy. The dress has a vintage chenille apron for Christmas and I am going to make a flag one for the Fourth of July. So cute and versatile. If only I finished this before February 13th so she could wear it more than once. Oh well, there is always next year.



Since I switched to cloth diapers I haven't been able to use my standard diaper clutch. They are much bulkier and the clutch only fits one diaper with no wipes. Hardly functional. So I had grand ideas to sew a cute purse to fit them in. I had this fun Swell by Urban Chiks charm pack and had no plans for it. Enter purse project. I also thought I would try out the Timtex interfacing that everyone raves about. I happily sewed away and even found some amazing clear acrylic bamboo handles and added a yo-yo pin to give it spice. Well, it is too small for the diapers. Oops. Measure twice cut once right? So now I have to think of a plan B for it. Perhaps it will show up on Etsy? Back to the drawing board for the cloth diaper issue. By the time I figure it out Lulu will probably be potty trained.




Being a mom to daughters I am comfortable making presents for girls. Boys however are a whole different story. Because I am doing my best to make every gift I give it gets even more complicated. I found a tutorial for this crayon roll up a while ago but never tried it out. Ozzie's third birthday was on the horizon and one thing I know he (and every other boy) likes is the Disney movie Cars. I like this crayon roll a lot. I made a strap with velcro instead of using ribbon like the pattern says. Velcro is manlier than ribbon I suppose. Now I have to get the princess fabric out and make a few for my girls.



This sweet birdie dress is made with my all time favorite fabric line "Summer In The City" by Urban Chiks. It is what really got me into sewing and fabric. My search for this exactly fabric actually led me to Etsy for the first time. I made this dress for Brylie's first birthday. A fun feature of this dress is it can double as a shirt as she grows and even a skirt. Hooray for options.



I read this blog that threw out the challenge to be creative everyday. The basic premise is to encourage those who create to use some sort of creativity every single day. The goal is to encourage small steps and to have a rather large showing for your efforts at the end of the year. It took me a few weeks to get in the groove of daily craftiness and even longer to commit to blogging about it, but here I go.